Overview
- Authorities identified Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, as the suspect in the Dec. 13 Brown attack and the Dec. 15 killing of MIT professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro, and an autopsy estimates he died by suicide on Dec. 16.
- Investigators found Valente’s body with two firearms in a Salem, New Hampshire storage unit; a Connecticut lab confirmed one gun matched the Brown scene and the other matched the Brookline homicide, per a joint FBI–ATF statement.
- A homeless Reddit user known as “John” provided a tip about a gray Nissan with Florida plates that led police to surveillance hits, a rental-car trail, and ultimately the suspect’s identification; federal authorities have confirmed he is eligible for a $50,000 reward.
- Providence police leveraged a network of Flock Safety cameras to trace the vehicle’s movements in the days before the shootings, while DNA and fingerprint testing further tied evidence to Valente, according to investigative filings.
- Officials say they have not established a motive; Valente briefly attended Brown two decades ago and previously overlapped with Loureiro at Portugal’s Instituto Superior Técnico, but had no current affiliation with the university.